Conrad Hotel Rating: 4.0 Pearls

Downtown, Miami, Florida

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The trendy Bar at Level 25

Muzak, or something close to it, always seems to be playing in the background at the Conrad. The soft-synth facsimiles I heard playing during my stay included Madonna's "Live to Tell" and Smokey Robinson's "The Tracks of My Tears" -- a fitting soundtrack to a hotel that strikes some, but not most, of the same tones as a boutique property.

The hotel's 203 guest rooms and 103 residences take up 17 floors of a 36-story Downtown skyscraper, Espirito Santa Plaza. The rest of the floors are occupied by condos and offices. Taking the elevator to the hotel's lobby on the 25th floor feels more like going to the bank than checking into a hotel, as is the case at many hotels in downtown Miami.

Though branded a luxury outpost of the Hilton chain, the Conrad is still a midrange buisness hotel at heart. It's located in an area that pretty much shuts down after happy hour. Common areas have hip décor, but guest rooms look like any other Hilton.

The trendy bar -- outfitted with mod, arching lamps and lime green booths -- and rooftop pool move the hotel a bit closer in the South Beach boutique direction, but it's a long way off. Service feels corporate, not cozy, and accessing the hotel's promised amenities, from the pool to the pillow menu, isn't easy. The pool, for example, is located on top of the hotel's parking garage and takes three elevator rides and a walk across the street to access it from guest rooms.

Even for a business hotel, the Conrad isn't quite up to snuff. The Wi-Fi is dismally slow -- I clocked upload speeds below 120 Kbps -- making it difficult to get much work done. While the hotel is slightly hipper than the nearby J.W. Marriott, the Marriott's service outshines the Conrad's.

Concierge desk

Entering the hotel, I tugged my heavy luggage with an exasperated look on my face. Porters simply stood and watched. I dialed up my tired-face-o-meter, hoping that this would elicit a luggage cart. Nothing. A porter simply advised me that check-in was on the 25th floor and the elevator was over there. Service improved from there on out, but it was still inconsistent.

Many things at the Conrad require a little extra effort and patience to get. It took two calls to the front desk to get a special pillow from the "pillow menu" the hotel advertises on its Web site. The first time I called up, no one seemed to know quite what I was talking about. They said they would call me back and never did. My request for a late checkout also required some patience. The simple request took two call transfers and some hold time before it could be granted. Multiple TripAdvisor reviewers also report service problems.

Service in the restaurant and at the concierge desk proved better. Staff at the restaurant was kind and efficient, and the friendly concierge eagerly mapped out the few dining options in the area.

View on a Larger Map

Located in Espirito Santo Plaza, a 36-story mirror of the Biscayne Bay in Miami's Downtown financial district, the hotel shares its building with office space and perminent residences. It's surrounded by banks, office buildings, and high-rise condo towers. By both day and night, four-lane Brickell Avenue has plenty of car traffic but very few pedestrians. Most other business hotels, including the Four Seasons and J.W. Marriott, are just a block or two away. But this part of Downtown shuts down after happy hour, and it can feel like a ghost town on the weekends.

For the beach, South Beach is a 15-minute taxi ride away that will cost you $20 to $25.

The Deluxe Bay View King Bed Room

Rooms at the Conrad, like the more expensive Four Seasons next door, are quite comfortable but lack the wow factor you'd find at the nearby Epic hotel.

The size of the standard Deluxe room varies quite a bit, ranging from 382 to 586 square feet. Rooms come with a DVD player but no iPod dock. They are expected to receive iPod docks, along with new furnishings and fresh paint, when the hotel finishes renovations by the end of 2011. All rooms have 37-42-inch flat screen TVs that feature a decent selection of channels, including HBO, as well as LodgeNet movies and "just missed" TV shows (including Showtime series) available for purchase. Wi-Fi is painfully slow and pretty expensive. I clocked download speeds below 500 Kbps and upload speeds just over 100 Kbps, making loading even simple Web pages a challenge.

With 500-thread-count sheets, beds are quite comfortable. They're also fairly stylish, with faux ostrich leather headboards with built-in spot lamps. Guests can also select custom pillows from a "pillow menu" with half a dozen different options, from Posturepedic to water pillows. It took a couple calls to the front desk to get my special pillow -- and the novelty of the water pillow quickly subsided. My head spent most of the night on one of the comfortable standard pillows.

Like the beds, bathrooms have nice touches like deep tubs with tub racks filled with neatly rolled washcloths. The showerheads don't look like anything special, but they provide some of the best water pressure around. Mirrors are artfully lit with hanging lamps, and soft terry cloth bathrobes provide some of the luxury that the Conrad brand promises. The hotel Web site mentions Molton Brown toiletries, but my rooms featured Acca Kappa products instead, which are also quite nice.

In-room coffee makers include Tazo teas. In my room, the mini-bar cabinet was topped with a little bamboo plant -- always nice to have something living in a hotel room.

The regular Deluxe rooms have pretty solid views of Downtown, but my Deluxe Bay View King, the next level up, features stunning views of the bay. Upgrading to rooms with views of the bay varies from $10 to $90, depending on availability and the time of year.

In addition to regular guest rooms, the hotel also has studio, one-, and two-bedroom residences available for both long and short stays. All residences feature a full kitchen but no washer/dryers. With studios available for just over $200 a night, there's some good deals to be had.

The hotel has special guest rooms available for the hearing and visually impaired with tactile alarm clocks, phone amplifiers, visual smoke detectors, visual door-knock signalers, and visual phone alerts.

Spa Chakra

Getting from a guest room to the pool or tennis courts, located on the roof of the hotel's parking structure, requires taking three elevators and crossing a street. It's pretty tedious. Don't forget your sunscreen.

The two artificial-turf tennis courts are in good but not pristine condition. The rectangular pool is clean, and the atmosphere is cheery -- bright green cabanas, a bar, and a Jacuzzi -- but the pool is a bit small, as is the area surrounding it. On one side, the chaise lounges have to be laid out diagonally, as there isn't enough room for them to face the pool perpendicularly. It's not the sprawling pool oasis offered by the Four Seasons next door, but for a hotel that costs about half as much, it's a solid option.

Spa Chakra, on the 24th floor, opened in 2007 and still looks lovely. Upon arrival, first-time guests receive a footbath and massage in a special room as they fill out paperwork, rather than doing that tedious task in the reception area. One of a handful of Guerlain spas, Spa Chakra offers a full range of treatments from chakra balancing to specialty facials.

The 24-hour fitness center is located within the spa. Renovated in late 2007, it features LifeFitness cardio machines that are in good condition, with video monitors with cable televisions. There are also weight machines and free weights. The ceilings are low and the windows are tiny, but it's pleasant and there are thoughtful touches like free headphones, apples, and a mini-refrigerator stocked with Conrad bottles of water.

Oddly, the business center is located out in the open, amid common meeting rooms. To check it out, I had to mingle with the dentistry conference attendees in the area. The area isn't exactly quiet.

Floaties at The Rooftop Pool

The hotel has a limited supply of adjoining rooms, but they can't be guaranteed until check-in. Even better, the Conrad has one- and two-bedroom residences that, unlike the standard rooms, come with a full kitchen (but no washer/dryers). There are studio, one, and two-bedroom options, and these rooms often cost about the same as the regular suites. No rooms have sleeper sofas, but a rollaway can be brought to any room at no additional cost. Cribs are also available, also at no charge.

Rooms have the Disney Channel OnDemand and DVD players. The hotel has a DVD lending library should more Disney fare be required. Kids get complimentary popcorn upon request. There are also floaties at the pool for kids big and small.

Both the restaurant and in-room dining offer kids' menus, with options like macaroni and cheese ($8) and freshly baked cookies and milk ($14).

Last renovated in 2005, the guest rooms are clean but not perfect. The entry area to my room had several large stains on the carpet, and the wall had a few scuffs. My showerhead also had some slight calcium buildup but no mildew. Overall, rooms are quite fresh.

Common areas are even better. The lobby, lounge, and restaurant all underwent a multimillion-dollar renovation in late 2007. When I visited in April of 2009, they still looked brand-new.

Breakfast options at Atrio

The hotel bar, the Bar at Lvl 25, serves $15 specialty drinks and small plates ranging from $10 yucca fritas to a $20 kobe beef burger among trendy, modern décor. The bar also features a huge 25th-floor patio with impressive views of the bay. There are weekly wine tasting nights with bottle from the hotel's lovely wine cellar, the Wine Attic. Private dinners can also be arranged in the Wine Attic, which houses chef's tasting dinners every Thursday. In 2008, the Miami New Times voted Lvl 25's Sunday brunch the "Best Hangover Cure." However, the bar's boozy, hair-of-the-dog brunch no longer takes place every week. It's only on special occassions.

The hotel restaurant, Atrio, also on the 25th floor, serves global fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The $18 continental breakfast is slightly more reasonable than most and elevated by delicious homemade granola. In lieu of the bar's Sunday brunch, Atrio serves a $28 brunch every Sunday.

Around the pool, Soleil Bar & Grill serves casual food and drink from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. In-room dining is available 24 hours a day.

Eating and drinking options in the immediate vicinity are limited. Across the street, the Latin bar and grill Novecento is open until 2 a.m. A Morton's steakhouse is just a couple blocks away, and there's a Starbucks a few blocks in the other direction down Brickell. But for most dining, plan on taking a taxi to South Beach (for $20 to $25) or elsewhere in mainland Miami, like Coconut Grove ($20), Coral Gables ($20), or the Design District ($30), an up-and-coming dining destination with notable restaurants like Pacific Time and Michael's Genuine Food and Drink, hailed by the New York Times in 2008 as one of the top new restaurants in the country.